Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson: 'Spike TV Made the UFC'

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and the UFC are going through an ugly breakup at the moment. At this point I'm surprised both sides haven't gone into scorned teenage girl mode and started posting mean things on Facebook about one another.

Although we aren't at that step just yet, Jackson's recent comments to Sherdog certainly won't quell the animosity from either side.

"...I think Bellator is actually going to come up," Jackson said. "You’ve got to think about it. Spike TV is what made the UFC. The UFC wouldn’t be where it is without Spike TV."

Jackson is partially correct. Having a deal with a cable outlet is bound to help anyone's exposure, and the UFC desperately needed an outlet to showcase their product. However, the sentiment of how important Spike TV was to the UFC's growth isn't shared by UFC President Dana White.

There's a pompous, arrogant clown that runs Viacom, his name is Philippe Dauman. This guy has claimed that he built the UFC. Claims he built the UFC. Let me remind everybody, the UFC was a time buy on Spike TV.

We paid 10 million dollars to be in a time buy on Spike TV. They act like they were these geniuses that saw this sport coming (Bleacher Report).

While appearing on a cable network certainly helped, what I believe helped the UFC most was appearing right after WWE's flagship show, WWE Raw, helped attract and build the UFC's fanbase for the first season of The Ultimate Fighter.

It's a strategy that worked so well Bellator attempted to do the same by airing it's shows directly after TNA Impact when the promotion made its Spike TV debut.

Jackson did manage to give some praise to the UFC in the Sherdog interview. He credited the exposure gained while in the promotion as the reason why he became such a big star in the first place. But this ultimately comes down to how Jackson feels slighted by the company.

Very few fighters on the UFC's roster are bigger than the UFC brand itself. Jackson believed he was one of those, while the promotion clearly thought otherwise. "Rampage" likely saw how Bellator rolled out the red carpet for fellow entertainer Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal upon his arrival to the Bellator cage and felt the grass was greener on the Bellator side.

If Jackson believes Bellator is a better fit for him then more power to him. But when he continually criticizes the UFC at nearly every chance he gets, you have to believe Bjorn Rebney and crew are hoping Jackson doesn't turn on them as well.

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